Posted in Workshops on Nov 20th, 2010
Ladies, How can I describe our trip to New York City?! We laughed. We cried. We rocked the stage. We survived…and a big ol’ THANK YOU is overdue! To: Novie. Iris. Kai. Cheyenne. Malaika. Kristen. Marcia. Renee. Linette. Novie’s mom, and all the other parents who made the trip possible. Your efforts are appreciated!! Clink […]
Posted in Workshops on Oct 11th, 2010
What is the one thing YWDEP girls lack? Stagefright. (At least, it seems that way.) HELLO YWDEP WORLD! Elliette Johnson here– I’m this year’s intern and will be responsible for keeping you connected to YWDEP. If you attended the Corporation for Enterprise Development‘s (CFED’s) 2010 Assets Learning Conference last month and stopped by YWDEP’s table […]
Posted in Workshops on Aug 24th, 2010
The Young Women’s Drumming Empowerment Project and the Saartjie Project are proud to present: the Soul Beat SiStars in their debut performance: EPIPHANY Saturday August 28th 2010, 12pm at the Columbia Heights Day Festival Youth Stage (On the Harriet Tubman E.S. Soccer Field, on 11th St. between Kenyon and Irving Streets NW. Use street parking […]
Posted in Workshops on Aug 2nd, 2010
Well everyone, my summer has come to a close and I’m no longer in DC. I had to leave early 1) for a mini research project I’m doing at home and 2) because I have to go back to school early for job training and to help with move-in (I’m a Resident Assistant). I’m so […]
Posted in Workshops on Aug 1st, 2010
I had a conversation with Cheyfaun the other day about her experience thus far with YWDEP. Here is the gist of what she said: “My mom set me and Tomi up with YWDEP. I’ve never drummed before this which is weird because just about everybody in my family drums. Like my grandfather, my uncles, and my […]
Posted in Workshops on Jul 30th, 2010
I asked Cheyenne to write a reflection on YWDEP, and this is what she had to say: When I came to my first drumming session, I wasn’t sure of what to expect. After clicking on the link in an e-mail my friend sent me begging me to do a drumming program with her, I found […]
Posted in Workshops on Jul 26th, 2010
Our workshop last Thursday was focused solely on drumming. We practised some rhythms that we knew already, and came up with new ones. As with everything, practise makes perfect, and the girls are getting better the more they drum. For instance, Doné, who plays the dunduns, was freestyling a bit on one of our pieces. […]
Posted in Workshops on Jul 20th, 2010
Everybody knows the song Dancing Queen by ABBA. I don’t care how old you are. Maybe you don’t know the name of the song, but once the music starts, you’ll be going ‘ohhh yeaaa!’ However, I guess there’s some small chance someone out there missed being exposed to one of the most popular, if not […]
Posted in Announcements, Workshops on Jul 15th, 2010
This post is dedicated to the lovely Renée, who is YWDEP’s chief volunteer and official keeper of the dunduns. Today is her birthday, and trust me, you would never guess how old she is. We hang out together quite a bit, which is helping me learn the secrets to her youthfulness. It’s nothing that radical […]
Posted in Workshops on Jul 13th, 2010
I don’t know how many of you are aware of the song Rhythm is a Dancer by the group Snap!, but I found out this Saturday how true those words are. We drummed and danced and looking back at the relationship between these two activities I feel like we embodied that phrase. We became rhythm […]
